1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for handover in a wireless communication system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for reducing a handover delay in the wireless communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rapid growth of the mobile communication market has included demands for various multimedia services in a wireless environment. To respond to these demands, research is being conducted on wireless communication systems for supporting high-speed services to guarantee mobility and Quality of Service (QoS) so as to offer the multimedia services.
To support a seamless service, the wireless communication system supports handover of a Mobile Station (MS). For instance, when the MS migrates from its serving Base Station (BS) to a target BS, the wireless communication system supports the handover which connects a call of the MS from the serving BS to the target BS to provide the seamless service to the MS. To connect the call to the target BS, the MS performs a ranging procedure with the target BS.
As discussed above, when the MS hands over to the target BS, the MS is serviced by the target BS only after it accesses the target BS through the ranging procedure with the target BS. In doing so however, the handover of the MS can be delayed due to the ranging procedure with the target BS.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved apparatus and a method for reducing handover delay in a wireless communication system.